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Graphic with connected dots and trees, text: Probable Meets Possible: Bio-inspired futures rooted in the right now
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Probable Meets Possible: Water What Ifs

Wednesday | May 20, 2020 | 4:00 pm5:00 pm

Probable Possible is a new series that asks University scientists in bio-based fields to talk about probable challenges we face and possible advances that could have a profound impact on the future.

Humans impact the planet at every scale from the composition of microbes in our soil to the function (or dysfunction) of entire ecosystems. Some suggest the current geological era should be called the Anthropocene in recognition of the outsized role we play in shaping the world around us. Our ability to understand how things work and, potentially, how to make them work for us to address pressing issues has never been greater. Given the rapid pace of discovery, what would it look like if we could time travel into the not-too-distant future. Eight investigators talk about the probable challenges we face and the possible developments that could shape the future in profound ways.

The second in a series of conversations with University scientists about how biological discoveries happening now may impact the future.

Water What Ifs

Special guests: Lesley Knoll and Daniel Stanton

Online dialogue, free, online link will be sent with Eventbrite registration

As glaciers recede, ice cover declines and rainfall patterns become less predictable, landscapes, livelihoods and ways of life are changing, too. Lesley Knoll and Daniel Stanton will explore the implications for the planet and the people who live on it.

Seasonal ice cover duration has been declining over the past 150 years for Northern Hemisphere lakes and rivers, but we still know relatively little about how inland ice loss directly affects humans. Dr. Lesley Knoll , a limnologist and station biologist at Itasca Biological Station and Laboratories, will explore cultural ecosystem services (e.g., sense of place, cultural identity) that are supported by lake and river ice. Water availability is expected to change considerably in the future. How this impacts vegetation will depend a lot on how plants respond and use remaining water. Dr. Daniel Stanton, an assistant professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, will discuss how plant interactions with climate at small and regional scales could lead to a range of outcomes, and where some of the large knowledge gaps and uncertainties remain.

Moderated by the Bell Museum’s Holly Menninger.

Organized by the College of Biological Sciences and the Bell Museum.

 

 

 

Details

Date:
Wednesday | May 20, 2020
Time:
4:00 pm–5:00 pm
Event Category:
Website:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/probable-meets-possible-water-what-ifs-tickets-103727626122

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